Portal de Periódicos da CAPES

The Development of Creative Thinking through Six Thinking Hats and Web 2.0 Technologies

2015; Volume: 21; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.18848/2327-0144/cgp/v22i02/49161

2327-2686

Aikaterini Alexiou, Sofia Mysirlaki, Aikaterini-Maria Souki, Lydia Koroneou, Adamantia Geomelou, Aggeliki Chatziiliou, Fotini Paraskeva,

Educational Games and Gamification

AbstractHigher Education Institutions should provide well-designed learning experiences to foster 21st skills (creativity, collaboration, problem solving, critical thinking and flexibility). Creativity is recognized as both a transversal skill for lifelong learning and a driver for innovation. It is suggested that Web 2.0 technologies can support learners through the process of generating ideas. The aim of this study is to design and implement a blended learning environment based on Web 2.0 Technologies (Wikispaces) through De Bono’s ‘Six Thinking Hats’ method in order to foster students’ creative thinking. A quasi-experimental research involving 44 participants in comparison groups in pre/post-tests was conducted. The results revealed that the factors associated with creativity, such as fluency, elaboration, flexibility and originality, tended to increase during the experimental procedure. This study suggests that the proposed environment could support learners to engage in and bolster their creative thinking. Conclusively, the potential of designing web-based environments for enhancing creativity should be further studied in order to familiarize students with different creativity strategies and techniques and apply these skills to authentic learning contexts.